Believe it or not, there are dangers that come with celebrating Halloween. Not the ghosts and goblins, though. These dangers involve reality–and money, to be specific. Insurance companies keep track of what kind of claims they have, how many there are, and at what time they occur. The month of October happens to have many claims involving accidents on Halloween. If we can use our awareness to be proactive on preventing these claims, things can go much more smoothly this on holiday. Here are some common insurance claims you should be aware of.

1. Egging. Why is it that children find such excitement in destruction? Possibly, they don’t realize the damage they are causing. Last year in Las Vegas, an egging caused thousands of dollars of damage to a BMW; from the cracked windows to the chipped paint. Egging is a crime. Should the suspect be caught, depending on your state, you could be faced with fines and jail time. This Halloween, keep your eggs away from your children at all costs.

1. Pumpkin-carving lacerations. If you have friends or family over to carve pumpkins at your home, be very careful. Do the cutting for the young ones, and always keep a watchful eye on what’s going on. There are many visits to the ER each holiday due to lacerations while carving a pumpkin. Stitches and blood are meant only to be part of a costume–not real life.

1. Halloween decor ignites a fire. Placing flammable decorations too close to a candle can cause a fire. The results of this can be horrifying; with the firefighters coming, damage to your home, followed by filing an insurance claim. This can also increase your insurance rates. Not to scare you too much. Go over your decorations once more, eliminating all fire hazards.

1. A Trick-or-Treater gets hurt on your property. Walk the same path to your front door that your trick-or-treaters will be walking. Make sure the path is clear–remove all obstacles. If a certain part of the path could be hard to see in the dark, try to find a way to illuminate it. Move any cords to your Halloween decorations off the pathway. You don’t want any slip-and-falls resulting in a trip to the emergency room.

1. Trick-or-Treaters will be on the road. It may get dark before all the children are back in for the night. If you are driving in a neighborhood, drive as slow as possible. Expect that a child could walk out in the road at any time.

By: KayLynn P.